As promised earlier, here is the review School Library Journal gave my book, Doc Wilde and The Frogs of Doom, in their August 1st issue. I edited out a line I thought was a bit too much a spoiler about the plot.

This genial parody owes much to Kenneth Robeson’s iconic “Doc Savage” novels (Bantam) and the eldritch tales of H. P. Lovecraft. Like the original Man of Bronze, Doc Spartacus Wilde is an international adventurer–he’s a master of martial arts, chemistry, disguise, and pretty much every other skill a true champion needs. Moreover, he has trained his children, Wren and Brian, to follow in his outsized footsteps. Every pulp hero needs a colorful sidekick or two, and the Wilde family has brawny Irishman Declan and dapper English attorney Bartlett–fast friends who bicker and spar constantly. When Grandpa Wilde is kidnapped by froglike beings, Wren and Brian accompany their dad’s team deep into the Amazon rainforest to the hidden country of Hidalgo…[Spoilage removed]

The action bounces breathlessly from crisis to crisis, with the Wilde family’s scientific gadgetry and arcane skills in constant demand. The mock heroic dialogue is sometimes a bit exaggerated, but for the most part, everything is played with a straight face. Kids won’t be familiar with the adult-oriented sources, but the book’s small format, breakneck pacing, and broad humor will appeal to middle-grade adventure fans.

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